Winnipeg Jets Are Suddenly Incompetent in Overtime

Just as the Jets lost their first game out of the Christmas break, so did they lose the last one before it , and in similarily-speedy fashion. This time, despite coming back from down 3-0 to the Utah Mammoth on Dec. 21, they were dispatched just 13 seconds into overtime when Dylan Guenther walked around everyone to create a two on one with Clayton Keller, the latter making no mistake.

Controversially, Arniel opted to start Adam Lowry, Neal Pionk, and Gabriel Vilardi — three slower players — instead of the Connor/Morrissey/Scheifele trio, and it clearly backfired. Arniel tried to justify his decision postgame, saying he “rode (the first line) pretty hard right down to the last shift of the third period.” However, there is a minutes-long intermission between the third period and overtime, so it’s not like Connor, Morrissey, and Scheifele would have started a shift completely exhausted if they’d been first over the boards.

Going back to mid-month, the Jets lost in overtime to the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 15. While the Jets appeared in control of the game in the third up 2-1, they allowed a flukey goal with 1:54 to go that sent it to the extra frame.

The Jets had a glorious chance to end things in overtime, but like many times in their frustrating, spiralling season, failed to convert. After Linus Ullmark made an excellent stop on Connor, Brady Tkachuk played the hero at 2:11, finishing off a two-on-one rush with Tim Stutzle that Dylan Samberg defended lackadaisically.

They also lost in a shootout to the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 3. This time, they generated only one shot in overtime and couldn’t beat Canadiens’ goaltender Jakub Dobes in the skills contest either; Cole Caufield bested Eric Comrie to open the shootout and Vilardi hit the crossbar to close it.

Jets Dominated Overtime in Past Few Seasons

The Jets have won only two games in overtime this season — against the Wild on Oct. 28 and against the Calgary Flames (shootout) on Nov. 15. Just like in just about every statistical area, their overtime success rate has regressed.

Their prowess in overtime last season was a big reason they were able to win a franchise-high 56 games; they went 14-4 past 60 minutes, winning 12 in three on three alone and losing only three.

In 2023-24 and 2022-23, they were a combined 16-9 in overtime/shootout.

Loser Points Won’t Be Enough to Get Jets Back to Relevance

While getting a “loser point” is better than getting nothing, the Jets need to start banking two more regularly — whether in regulation and overtime — if they want to have any chance of getting back into the playoff picture.

After the loss to the Wild, the Jets are just 15-17-4 to sit seventh in the Central Division, five points out of a wild-card spot, and tied for second last league wide in points. They have gone just 6-14-4 since their 9-3-0 start and have not won back-to-back games in more than a month. Their secondary scoring is non existent, their defence is suspect, and they appear too fragile to withstand even the lightest gust of adversity.

Their lives won’t get any easier to as they have to face the Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wings — who are tied for first and outright first in their respective divisions — to close out 2025.